Thursday, December 02, 2010

became too long and so I decided to respond via this Blog. Desi Living is a vibrant, thoughtfully-conceived, hip and sophisticated website by some energetic Houston ladies of Indian origin. I came across them when they requested I add a Flickr picturefrom my family album to their Flickr Group pool.

It takes time and exposure to the world outside of the commercial hubs that we find ourselves in.....for some Indian immigrants it takes a little longer, because they are in a state of culture shock without acknowledging or recognizing it for what it is. Busy with being assimilated and accepted by the new society, elated with the escape to a 'better' socio-economic lifestyle, they rush headlong into pursuance of the dream they envisioned for so long back in India. A few sparks of success in the business world and a burgeoning sense of worth in the local community/network followed by the leveling out of the sensitivities as the Immigrant now becomes one of the masses and the daily grind.....and then come the moments when the 'keeping up with the Joneses' mentality creeps in and colors every social invitation.

To get beyond that stage means to get out of that box for a while.....to look for the simple pleasures where the oneness with the masses can be achieved only through intense self-introspection and a re-evaluation of one's aspirations in conjunction with a sense of looking at how the have-nots deal with their challenges. This means opening one's eyes to the lowliest of the low, the sick, the elderly and the forgotten who live a day-to-day existence at the mercy of others. Trying to make someone else's life better by using what resources we possess will make our lives more rewarding and meaningful. And one overlooked resource is the wealth of first-hand experience we have from being raised in India, where the needy and 'have-nots' outnumber the Joneses. Where the well-off new elite look down from their skyscrapers onto a mass of humanity who are permanently disabled by Poverty and lack of simple care and love, just enough to let them lead a meaningful existence instead of a life as worthless as the stray dogs they share their last morsels with. When we REALLY take the substance of their lives to heart, we have truly freed ourselves to become better.....better than the confused persons we look at in our mirrors.